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Well, if "Che" and "The Girlfriend Experience" are left out of end of the year accolades from critics groups then "The Informant!" may be Soderbergh's sole awards shot (though Matt Damon also has a shot at an acting nod in Clint Eastwood's new film about Nelson Mandela due out in December).  And what a surprise this movie turned out to be!

Boasting in the TV ads as being the next film from "Oceans 11, 12 & 13" Director Steven Soderbergh, "Informant" couldn't be more different than those Vegas fluff vehicles. Rather, this new film is more at home alongside Soderbergh's "The Limey" or "Out of Sight"--films with several commercial ingredients but spun together in the offbeat niche Soderbergh blender.  Shot all around the state of Illinois, along with some sections in Japan and parts of Europe, "The Informant!" spends much of its running time observing the organisms of a corporate office, shabby hotel rooms and pristine farmland mansions.  Even more interesting are the variables within each setting.

Damon plays Mark Whitacre, a top corporate figure who turned out to be an enigma of a whistle blower for ADM--but for reasons I'll leave for you to discover.  The film garners its narrative backbone from Whitacre's obtuse observations about the environment around him, odd global facts and the personal goals he sets for himself. These often hilarious observations are unexpectedly thrown at the audience over the actual main dialogue soundtrack during several parts of the movie. At first it's alarming. How can we hear what these key players are talking about? But as the film advances forward it becomes clear that the audience is at no more an advantage than some of the characters being demised, double-crossed or caught up in Whitacre's smoke n' mirrors trick. 

The ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) Company debacle could have led Soderbergh astray simply as the standard Hollywood health issue morality tale (as his ill-fated and lesser "Erin Brockovich") but by focusing solely on Whitacre's naive white knight campaign to bring corporate price fixing to an imaginary halt, "The Informant!" unravels from probable corporate thriller to a wry darkly comic riff on the concept of risk and reward. In other words, when you put your ass on the line, just what exactly are you deep down inside hoping to come away with? A slap on the back? A simple thank you? Tickets to Hawaii?

In the end, after watching the film I felt as if I just watched a Werner Herzog film. There are soulful characters all around the edges, including FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard played here by Scott Bakula (remember him from TV's "Quantum Leap"?), Mick Andreas played by comedian Tom Papa & even a turn by Clancy Brown as the lawyer Aubrey Daniel (remember Brown from "Pet Cemetery 2"?).  All of them loose and natural feeling, never striking a moment of caricature. Even in the white collar office setting there is always a vibration of absurdity felt underneath the desks and leather chairs but the simple plot mechanism of the supposed David vs. Goliath setup lends all this goofiness a gravitas of apt seriousness.

A smart film about corporate greediness is especially welcome viewing in today's ever dire economy. Like they say, laughter is best medicine.